Undo: Drowned Hopes
Undo: Drowned Hopes Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- About 5 Rules cards (numbered on the bottom, R1, R2, etc.): The Rules cards explain the game while you play it without having to read the rules beforehand. If you prefer that, you do not need to use this guide. But if you would rather read the complete game explanation before playing, use this guide and ignore the Rules cards instead.
- About 4 Solution cards (numbered on the bottom, S1, S2, etc.): The Solution cards tell you how the story is resolved and how well you have done in changing the deceased person's life for the better.
- About 13 Story cards (numbered on the top left): The Story cards tell the story you must change.
- About 33 Fate cards (numbered, e.g. 1A, 1B, 1C, etc.): The Fate cards tell you whether you have changed the story for the better, for the worse, or not at all. Occasionally they also contain additional information or special rules.
- About 9 Time cards: You must discard 1 Time card whenever you time travel.
- About 4 Magnifier cards: You must discard 1 Magnifier card in order to reveal a Clue card.
- About 13 Clue cards (numbered on the top left): Clue cards are each associated with a Story card and provide additional information.
Setup
Set aside the Rules and Solution cards. You have the rules here in this guide and you don't need the Solution cards until the end of the game.
Place all Time cards (usually 9) and Magnifier cards (usually 4) as two separate stacks within easy reach of the players.
Lay out all of the Story cards in ascending order without looking at the other side. If space permits, it is best to place the cards in one long row. If you don't have enough space two rows would work as well. Important: Leave enough space above and below each card to place 1 of the smaller cards horizontally.
Place each of the Clue cards directly below the Story card with the same number without looking at the other side.
Now, reveal the Story card that has a different color in its title area. This is usually Story card 12 and will also say Circumstances of Death. Also reveal its corresponding Clue card.
Place the entire stack of Fate cards, without looking at the other side, above the revealed Story card.
Now read the revealed Story and Clue cards to begin the story and learn about the circumstances of death. Can you re-weave the threads of fate and thereby prevent this tragic death?
Game Play
You play as a group with each player taking a turn in clockwise order. You discuss everything as a group but final decisions are made by the player that is currently having their turn. This applies to picking the destination for your next time travel, the change you decide to make for the current event, and whether or not you want to use a Magnifier card.
You may now choose a start player and discuss where you would like to time travel to first. That is, which Story card you want to reveal next. The game gains life from constructing theories about what happened and discussions of what you need to do to prevent the tragic death.
Your First Time Travel
Once you have decided where to go for your first time travel, you must first discard 1 Time card. You must do this each time you want to reveal a new Story card.
Then reveal and read the Story card you have chosen.
After reading the story on most cards, you will usually be faced with making a decision based on 3 options regarding how you want to influence this event. Take time to develop different theories and discuss them together before you decide on one of the options.
Fate
Once you have decided on one of the options, find the appropriate Fate card in the stack of Fate cards above the Story card with the Circumstances of Death. Reveal this Fate card and place it above the current Story card.
Discard the other 2 Fate cards for this Story card back to the box without looking at them as you no longer need them.
Example: You have decided on Option B for Story card 4. Now you must find Fate card 4B, reveal it and place it above Story card 4. You should discard Fate cards 4A and 4C back to the box without revealing the other side.
You will gain points if you have changed the story for the better.
You will lose points if you have made the situation worse.
You will get 0 points if you didn't change the story at all – as that usually is what actually happened to help seal the fate of the deceased person – or, the event had no influence on the deceased's death.
Further Time Travel
Now, in clockwise order, it is the next player's turn.
Again, consider which Story card you want to reveal next. If you can't agree, the current player has the final decision. Remember to discard 1 Time card in order to time travel.
Be mindful that you have fewer Time cards than Story cards, which means there will be several Story cards that won't be revealed.
Clue Cards
The Magnifier cards you have available will allow you to gain additional information. You may only use 1 Magnifier card each turn. If you do, you may reveal and read 1 Clue card of your choice for any Story card that has already been revealed.
In most cases, you will be interested in the Clue card for the new Story card that you are considering to make a decision. But you can also turn over a Clue card for a Story card you revealed earlier.
You are not allowed to reveal a Clue card for a Story card that has not been revealed.
No Direct Influence
Be aware that each of your decisions obviously have no influence on the other cards. Even if you take your time travels step by step, your changes all take effect simultaneously at the end of the case.
Game End
Your final turn begins when you discard your last Time card. You will make one last decision for this new Story card followed by revealing its corresponding Fate card.
Once you have made your last decision, you may take the Solution cards that were set aside at the beginning of the game and read the End of Story card. Have you collected enough points to successfully re-weave the threads of fate?
The End of Story card gives the following results:
- Less than 0 points: Oh no, you made things worse and the death even more likely.
- 0–2 points: You were on the right track but sadly unable to prevent the death.
- 3–4 points: You were close but fate was relentless.
- 5–6 points: Congratulations! You actually managed to prevent this death!
- 7–8 points: You deciphered the story and prevented the death with ease.
- 9 or more points: Incredible! You have not only mastered the threads of fate to prevent the person's death, you made his life better as well.
Tips for the Best Possible Game Experience
Take your time and get involved in an unusual story. Don't jump to quick conclusions; instead, develop different theories of what might have happened. Look for evidence on the revealed cards.
Stay flexible and be prepared to reject your own theories. Newly revealed cards will sometimes reveal contradictory information.
Even the Fate cards you reveal can be helpful. Knowing you have gained positive, negative, or even zero points for a decision is also an important clue about possible events.
Take time to develop different theories and discuss them together before you make your decisions. Only then will you be able to successfully weave fate anew.